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You can do anything. You cannot do everything.

Published 23 days ago • 3 min read

You have to choose a few things, sacrifice everything else, and deal with the inevitable sense of loss that results.

You can do anything. You cannot do everything.

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The loss that comes with tough choices

You have to choose a few things, sacrifice everything else, and deal with the inevitable sense of loss that results.

According to Jonathan, who writes The Money Blog, this is the single sentence that summarises the whole of Oliver Burkeman's book “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.”

The problem with time management tools

He also points out that one of the problems with most time management tools and approaches is that they actually work. Because they work, they begin to create the illusion that we can just keep adding more and more things to our list of things that we want to get done. What they hide is the way in which all that work slowly becomes less and less effective, increasingly shallow, and often more and more meaningless.

It reminds me of David Allen's adage: “You can do anything, but you cannot do everything.”

Almost every person I have ever met in almost every organisation I have ever worked with is too busy. The few people in senior leadership positions who were not too busy were astoundingly effective at their work. Most people are trying to do everything that seems important, and most people also leave a whole bunch of things that are apparently important enough to be on a to-do list undone, simply because there is not enough time to get it all done.

The problem is that if everything is important, then nothing is important.

I think for most entrepreneurs this is not a new concept. It's simple and hard. But it is not new.

Applying this to your strategy

The thought that was new for me, as I was reading and thinking about this, was this:

I think this might be the most important part of strategy.

It is probably also the part of strategy that receives the least attention. In fact, I have hardly ever seen this being a clear and deliberate part of strategic decision-making. It is often implied. But hardly ever made explicit.

Make a clear list of things to stop doing

What must be made explicit, as part of the output of any strategic discussion, has to be a clear list of things that we are going to stop doing with immediate effect. Depending on the size, nature, and complexity of your organisation, this can literally just be a list of tasks on your task list that you cross out. Or it can be projects on which you are going to pull the funding and resourcing.

For every item that you stop doing – whether it's something on your task list, or a project on which you pull the plug – all the resources that had been allocated to that thing, now become available to accelerate something that is more important.

Start with one thing at a time

I'd like to combine this with something I heard John Mark Comer say on a podcast recently: Growth happens when you stretch about 10%.

If you can lift 100 pounds, and you want to lift 200, you don't just double the weights and try your best to lift them. You add 10 pounds, and you lift that. Once you've built that strength, you add another 10. Do that ten times, and you get to your 200.

I think you can do that in the negative. Don't just try to cut away 90% of the things that are draining your time. Look at all the things you are working on. Pick the least important. Kill it.

Redirect resources to the most important thing

Deal with the sense of loss that comes with that. But also take a moment to notice that slight sense of freedom that will be flickering. That sense of hope that maybe there is a better way than the hustle culture. Notice that little bit of energy that is now available for other things. Direct that energy, and that time to the most important thing you are working on.

Do that again tomorrow.

A year from today your life will look very, very different.

You will begin to see that you truly can do anything.

But you cannot do everything.

To your success

Ashton

Let's Eradicate Poverty

5-2-50 is a Movement of Christian small business founders dedicated to creating a million good jobs by growing 25 000 small businesses of at least 5 people, that have been running for at least 5 years, to 50 people or more, to ZAR 10 million NPAT, and to Free the Founder from the day to day grind of the business.
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